Immediate and Lasting Chronic Pain Reduction Following a Brief Self-Implemented Mindfulness-Based Interoceptive Exposure Task: a Pilot Study

Cayoun, B; Simmons, A; Shires, A

Immediate and Lasting Chronic Pain Reduction Following a Brief Self-Implemented Mindfulness-Based Interoceptive Exposure Task: a Pilot Study

Cayoun, B Simmons, A Shires, A

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Publisher:: Springer Verlag
Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Mindfulness, 2020
Issue Date:: 2020

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Cayoun, B	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Simmons, A	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Shires, A https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8153-1126	en_US
dc.date.issued	2020	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	Mindfulness, 2020	en_US
dc.identifier.issn	1868-8535	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/118583
dc.description.abstract	Abstract Recent imaging research shows that approximately 80%ofpeoplewhotransitfromacutetochronicpainproduce neuroplasticity linking pain pathways to learning areas of the brain, thus showing physiological evidence that chronic pain is largely learned. Mindfulness meditation programs have been used successfully to teach people a way of decreasing pain-related distress and unlearning their unhelpful relationship to pain. However, not all chronic pain patients are amenable to undergo a full mindfulness program and then maintaindailypractice.Accordingly,weconductedapilotstudyof a task extracted from a second-generation MBI, Mindfulnessintegrated Cognitive Behavior Therapy, which consisted of a self-guided 30-s mindfulness-based interoceptive exposure task (MIET) to pain sensations in 15 medically diagnosed chronic pain patients. Participants using the MIET repeatedly over 15 days learned not to identify with pain and focused on four subcomponents of interoception (mass, motion, temperature, and cohesiveness) while remaining equanimous. This ledtosignificantreductioninpainanxiety(p=.001;d=0.96), pain duration (p = .01;d = 0.86), and pain intensity after each 30-s exposure (p < .001;d = 1.37). These effects were maintained, and some further improved, at 2-month follow-up. Marked decrease in depression, anxiety and stress were also observed(p<.001;d=0.81).Whileparticipantsratedthetask as highly acceptable and some reduced their use of analgesic medication; no other change in medical or psychological treatment was required. These early results show the potential for the MIET to be use as an adjunct to traditional treatments of chronic pain, although controlled studies are needed to establish the validity of our results. Brain-imaging studies are also needed to assess the possible unlearning effect of the MIET on corticolimbic regions, a process that may be termed Bcentral desensitization.^	en_US
dc.publisher	Springer Verlag	en_US
dc.relation.ispartof	Mindfulness	en_US
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1007/s12671-017-0823-x	en_US
dc.title	Immediate and Lasting Chronic Pain Reduction Following a Brief Self-Implemented Mindfulness-Based Interoceptive Exposure Task: a Pilot Study	en_US
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.for	1701 Psychology	en_US
utslib.for	1103 Clinical Sciences	en_US
utslib.for	1608 Sociology	en_US
pubs.embargo.period	Not known	en_US
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Graduate School of Health
utslib.copyright.status	closed_access
pubs.consider-herdc	true	en_US
pubs.publication-status	Published online	en_US

Abstract:

Abstract Recent imaging research shows that approximately 80%ofpeoplewhotransitfromacutetochronicpainproduce neuroplasticity linking pain pathways to learning areas of the brain, thus showing physiological evidence that chronic pain is largely learned. Mindfulness meditation programs have been used successfully to teach people a way of decreasing pain-related distress and unlearning their unhelpful relationship to pain. However, not all chronic pain patients are amenable to undergo a full mindfulness program and then maintaindailypractice.Accordingly,weconductedapilotstudyof a task extracted from a second-generation MBI, Mindfulnessintegrated Cognitive Behavior Therapy, which consisted of a self-guided 30-s mindfulness-based interoceptive exposure task (MIET) to pain sensations in 15 medically diagnosed chronic pain patients. Participants using the MIET repeatedly over 15 days learned not to identify with pain and focused on four subcomponents of interoception (mass, motion, temperature, and cohesiveness) while remaining equanimous. This ledtosignificantreductioninpainanxiety(p=.001;d=0.96), pain duration (p = .01;d = 0.86), and pain intensity after each 30-s exposure (p < .001;d = 1.37). These effects were maintained, and some further improved, at 2-month follow-up. Marked decrease in depression, anxiety and stress were also observed(p<.001;d=0.81).Whileparticipantsratedthetask as highly acceptable and some reduced their use of analgesic medication; no other change in medical or psychological treatment was required. These early results show the potential for the MIET to be use as an adjunct to traditional treatments of chronic pain, although controlled studies are needed to establish the validity of our results. Brain-imaging studies are also needed to assess the possible unlearning effect of the MIET on corticolimbic regions, a process that may be termed Bcentral desensitization.^

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/118583